Wrench having socket-size-adjusting inserts



P 27, 1960 H. J. OCHSNER 2,953,954

WRENCH HAVING SOCKETfZE-ADJUSTING INSERTS Filed Sept. 19, 1958 FIG. .1.

INVENT OR. HOW/4190 d OCHS/VEE United States PatentO" WRENCH HAVING SOCKET-SIZE-ADJUSTING INSERTS Howard J. Ochsner, Box 532, Benkelman, Nebr.

Filed Sept. 19, 1958, Ser. No. 762,074

2 Claims. (Cl. 81-186) This invention relates generally to hand tools. More particularly, the invention has reference to wrenches.

One important object of the present invention is to provide an improved wrench of the type having removable size-adjusting inserts mountable on a jaw of the wrench.

Another object is to provide an insert for a wrench of the type stated, which will be characterized by the swiftness and ease with which it may be inserted and removed.

Another object is to so form the insert that it can be manufactured at a low cost.

Another object is to produce maximum strength in the insert and jaw formation, and minimum possibility of relative movement of the insert and its associated jaw.

Another object is to prolong the effective life of the wrench by permitting the replacement of comparatively inexpensive parts, which parts constitute the only wearing parts of the wrench.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wrench according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged end elevational view of a wrench as seen from the left of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view, on the same scale as Figure 2, taken on line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the same scale as Figure 3, taken on line 44 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the inserts per se.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the wrench comprising the present invention includes an elongated handle which may have a longitudinal slot 12 and which may have, at one end, an opening 14.

The head of the wrench has been designated 16 and is of a flat, thickened formation as will be noted from Figures 2 and 4. The head, in outer configuration, is rounded as shown at 17, and in the forward end of the head there is formed a wide recess 18 defining at opposite sides thereof jaws 20, 22 between which the nut, bolthead or other work piece, not shown, is engaged.

Ordinarily, a wrench of this type is so designed that the diametrically opposite facets of the nut or bolthead are engaged in face-to-face relation with the inner surfaces 23 of the respective jaws 20, 22. The disadvantage of such a wrench, of course, results in the fact that only one nut or bolt size can be received and acted upon by the head of the wrench. Therefore, a complete set of wrenches, designed to accommodate a wide range of nut and bolthead sizes, will necessarily involve that every size requires a separate wrench together with its handle, head, etc. While heretofore interchangeable heads and inserts have been broadly proposed, these have not found widespread favor. This may be due to the relative complexity of the parts, which is of course undesirable. Then again, wrenches of the type shown are often used in locations at which there are substantial quantities of grease and dirt,

and this foreign material gets into crevices of the mach.

Therefore, the wrench cannot be cleaned out easily, and often its complete efliciency is lost. 7

In accordance with the present invention, the back wall of the recess 18 is provided with a deep, rectangular: cavity 24, the opposite side walls of which have been designated at 25 (Figure 4). Said side walls of thecavity 24 are parallel to the side surfaces or faces 27 of the head,

narily, the wrench when sold will include one or more replacement clasps, which can be readily connected to the back wall 29, in place of a previously used clasp .which has become worn. I

In any event, clasp 26 is of U-shape, with its bight por{ tion secured by screws 28 to the back wall 29. Therefore; the clasp has forwardly projecting, oppositely but identie cally formed, outwardly bowed spring arms 31.-,

Generally designated at 30 is a removable insert, which comprises a single piece of metal material, and which is shown per se in Figure 5. Insert 30-includes an elongated block 32, having a flat top surface 33 forming a jaw face that is in confronting relation to. the jaw face or surface 23 of jaw 20. Block 32 is in overlying relation .to the jaw 22, and along the underside of the block there is a dovetail tongue 34, adapted to engage in a complementary, dovetail recess 36 formed in the jaw face 23 of jaw 22.

It is important'to note that the dovetail groove 36 extends continuously from the distal or forward endofjaw 22 to the back wall 29 of the cavity 24. Tongue 34, how} ever, extends for only part of the full length of the dovef tail groove. Therefore, when the insertis in place as; in Figure 3, the back portion 3-7 of the dovetail groove "36 remains open, so that any accumulated dirt or grease has a space into which it may move when the insert is being engaged with the jaw 22. This permits the insert to move fully into its working position without interference from accumulated dirt and grease that may have lodged in groove 36. Whenever desired, the insert can be removed and this permits the entire length of the groove 36, including the rear portion 37 thereof, to be easily cleaned out.

The tongue 36 extends the full length of the block 32. Block 32 at its inner end is integral with a connecting arm 38, the width of whichis reduced relative to the width of the block 32. Arm 38 is integral, along its inner surface, with a vertically disposed rib 40, having undercut sides. Rib 40 has its length perpendicular to the length of the block 32.

The arm 38 has a sloped top surface 42, which declines in a forward direction to merge into the flat jaw face 33. Thus, the arm 38 is progressively increased in height, to increase the effective length of the rib 40, said rib being coextensive in length with the clasp or clip 31.

In use of the invention, a selected insert is moved into the recess 18, from the left in Figure 3, with tongue 34 sliding in groove 36. Eventually, rib 40 engages the convergent forward ends or edges of the arms 31 of the spring clasps, and spreads said arms.

spring back into place in back of the undercut sides or flanks of the rib as in Figure 4. The device is now securely held in position, and a nut or bolt head can now be engaged between jaw face 33 and the confronting face 23 of jaw 20.

In a typical embodiment, it would be, undoubtedly, a suitable arrangement to provide two main units, that is, two wrenches of the type shown in Figure 1. These Patented Sept. 27,

The rib 40 eventually moves fully into the space between the arms and the arms would be merchandised with a complete set of inserts, graduated in size from of an inch to one full inch, with the graduations ascending in value at the rate of A of an inch. These sizes, of course, refer to the distance between face 23 (of jaw 20 and jaw face 33 of a selected insert that has been engaged against jaw 22. Sizes A through would probably be suitable to fit a smaller one of the two wrench bodies, while sizes through one inch would be adapted to fit the larger one of the two wrenches. There would thus be a light duty and a heavy duty wrench, each of which has maximum flexibility in respect to size combination.

This, of course, is only'one possible arrangement, and many others could be utilized. It is mainly important to note that there is an improved type of wrench having'removable inserts, so that any of a plurality of inserts of diiferent sizes can be engaged in the same head 16, in an interchangeable arrangement adapted to increase measurably the versatility of a single wrench, as compared to a conventional wrench which is only of a single size.

It is believed apparent that the invention is notnecessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is'claimed is:

1. A wrench including a handle; a head thereon having a recess defining opposed jaws at opposite sides of the recess; a removable insert engageable against one of the jaws and having a jaw face in confronting relation to the face of the other jaw; and means on the head for releasably holding the insert in engagement with said one jaw, comprising a spring clip, szid insert at one end thereof having a rib releasably embraced by said clip, said rib and clip extending normally to the length of the insert, the insert-having a longitudinal, dovetail tongue and-said one jaw having a longitudinal dovetail groove adapted to receive said tongue, said tongue and groove extending perpendicularly to the length of said rib, said head having a deep cavity opening upon said recess adjacent said one jaw, said clasp being mounted in said cavity.

2. A wrench including a handle; a head thereon having a recess defining opposed jaws at opposite sides of the recess; a removable insert engageable against one of the jaws and having a jaw face in confronting relation to the face of the other jaw; and means on the head for releasably holding the insert in engagement with said one jaw, comprising a spring clip, said insert at one end thereof having a rib releasably embraced by said clip, said rib and clip extending normally to the length of the insert, the insert having a longitudinal, dovetail tongue and said one jaw having a longitudinal dovetail groove adapted to receive said tongue, said tongue and groove extending perpendicularly to the length of said rib, said head having a deep cavity opening upon said recess adjacent said one jaw, said clip being mounted in said cavity, said dovetail groove extending the full length of the jaw and continuing to the inner end of the cavity, said tongue terminating substantially at the location where the cavity opens into the recess, inwardly from the inner end of the groove.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 463,044 'Hammack Nov. 10, 1891 869,097 Mandl Oct. 22, 1907 878,673 Rowland Feb. 11, 1908 878,968 Lindsay Feb. 11, 1908 1,109,061 Hanrahan Sept. 1, 1914 1,360,176 Carr Nov. 23, 1920 1,392,238 Stewart Sept. 27, 1921 2,592,781 Yavner Apr. 15, 1952 2,697,372 Lane Dec. 21, 1954 2,820,385 Schulze Jan. 21, 1958 

